Massacre in the Great Temple

The Massacre in the Great Temple occurred on 22 May 1520, when Spanish soldiers under Pedro de Alvarado massacred thousands of Aztec elites during the Feast of Toxcatl in Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City, Mexico). Alvarado, the deputy governor of New Spain, had been left behind in Tenochtitlan with a handful of Spanish troops as Hernan Cortes departed for San Juan de Ulua with the main army to confront Panfilo de Narvaez's rival Spanish army. Alvarado forbade the Aztecs from carrying out human sacrifices during the Feast of Toxcatl, a major festival, but, when he heard rumors that the sacrifices would go on ahead, he had priests and nobles tortured to give him more information. He inadvertently also discovered that a revolt was being planned, causing him to become paranoid. After he heard flutes and drums sounding in joviality at the Great Temple, Alvarado - believing that the revolt was about to begin - had Spanish soldiers massacre the celebrating Aztecs at the temple. The massacre led to a deterioration in Spanish-Aztec relations, as well as to the Aztec revolt in the "Night of Sorrows".